State Record Yellowfin Tuna Division Added to
2018 Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic
May 7, 2018; Biloxi, Mississippi:
MGCBC tournament officials today announced an additional division to the 2018 contest, which will be held June 4-10 at the Golden Nugget Casino and Hotel. With a base entry, teams may also enter the optional $200 cash jackpot division set aside for a new Mississippi record yellowfin tuna. The registered team that breaks the current 205.8-pound mark will win a cash prize of $500,000. Combined with the base entry payout and maximum optional entries, the total payout could reach $750,000.
“Capt. Jimmy Crochet of Conundrum was at the helm of She’s The One when angler Rob Landingham boated the current Classic record in 2001,” says tournament marketing director Robbie Carter. “That fish weighed 205.8 pounds and was 70.5 inches long. It earned the team $132,725 in prize money and a new Ford Expedition.”
In order to qualify for the new record yellowfin prize money (covered by a guaranteed insurance policy), the angler must record a legal and verified catch that breaks the official Mississippi saltwater conventional tackle record during the Classic tournament hours of 11:01 a.m. June 7 until 6 p.m. June 10, 2018. Tying the existing record will not win the special prize money, but the new mark is certainly within reach. Fourteen-year-old Ryan Cooper, fishing aboard his dad’s boat CE, topped the yellowfin field last year with a 201.6-pound entry. A 210-pounder was weighed at the Venice Louisiana Marina a few weeks ago.
“The Classic is known throughout the Gulf big-game circuit for its record-breaking fish, so adding this division just keeps the tradition going,” Carter says. “We’re currently at 121 teams registered and those are among the top crews in the sport. So I’m pretty confident we’ll be re-writing the record book by the time scales close Saturday night.”
It was at the Classic in 2002 that angler Barry Carr and the team aboard Sea Wolff brought the all-tournament blue marlin to the scales. That grander, which weighed 1,054,6 pounds, is also the all-time largest blue marlin recorded in the Gulf of Mexico. New state records were set for bluefin tuna (1999) and bigeye tuna (2011) in addition to She’s The One’s fish in 2001. A new swordfish standard was set last year when Scott Cothran and the team on Pay Dirt boated a 242.54-pound broadbill.
Classic contestants will be angling for the top weights of blue marlin (with a 107-inch minimum length requirement), swordfish, yellowfin tuna, wahoo and dolphin. Smaller blues, along with white marlin, sailfish and spearfish successfully released, could earn thousands of dollars in the highly competitive release division.
To learn more or to enter the 2018 Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic please visit www.mgcbc.com or follow through social media on FaceBook, Twitter and Instagram.
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